


Lucky Charm

by Chatspunsaregold52



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (me) - Freeform, But he actually tries, F/M, Gabe just wants love, Honestly not sure where this will go, I guess he's kinda a decent father, I live for good old fashioned Friendship (TM), Mother Gothel - Freeform, News flash: Gabriel Agreste is, Nino and Marinette are bros, SO, enjoy the journey, first fanfic, hope you enjoy!, in fact, who would have guessed?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:28:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23137696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chatspunsaregold52/pseuds/Chatspunsaregold52
Summary: Over two years ago, Gabriel Agreste took Adrien out of public school and has been trying to be a better father for his son. Neither Hawkmoth's akumas nor Chat Noir have been seen or heard from since then. Now Adrien is moving out of his father's mansion, going to college, and seeing some of his friends for the first time in two years. Just how much has Paris changed while he's been gone?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 12
Kudos: 22





	1. First Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So, this is my first fanfic and it's probably kind of rough but I thought I'd just put it out there and see how it goes. Please let me know how you like it so far (but also please be civil), I would love to know what you thought was good and how I can improve. I'm honestly not completely sure how the rest of the story will go at this point, but I guess we'll enjoy the journey together! I'll update when I can but life is busy so we'll see? Thanks so much!!! (Also, I'm aware that high school and college have different names in France, but I'm very much American and it's just easier for me to not have to think about it.)

Adrien walked across campus, a bit overwhelmed by the throng of people surrounding him. Thankfully, it hadn't taken much convincing to get his bodyguard to drop him off in a more discreet location. The large man understood his charge well, knowing Adrien wouldn't want to be dropped off like a kid on his first day of kindergarten. As much as Mr. Agreste tried, Adrien sometimes felt like the "Gorilla", as he had affectionately nicknamed the man, knew him better than his own father did. But at least Father, or Dad, as he had gotten more comfortable with calling him, tried. And that was all that really mattered to Adrien. 

Snapping his mind back into the present, Adrien thought he noticed a familiar pink backpack through the crowd in front of him. Was that Marinette? It had been so long since he had seen her that he wasn't sure he could completely trust his memory. Nevertheless, he jogged to catch up with the bearer of the pink backpack. Adrien elbowed his way through the crowd, getting scowls or huffs from those he bumped into along the way. Just as he had almost caught up to what he hoped was Marinette's backpack, he tripped over someone's foot. Trying frantically to stay standing, he bumped into someone else. Their feet tangled and Adrien had to catch the other person. 

"I'm so sorry, I was-", he started, before looking up into a familiar pair of bluebell eyes. He forgot the rest of what he had been saying. It was Marinette, of that, there was no doubt. But, wow, when had Marinette gotten so beautiful? Sure, she was cute before, but those two years had _really_ been good to her. Looking down at his hands still holding her up, Adrien forced himself to release her and took a step back. His face burned. Words, words, where were words when he needed them? He coughed awkwardly, trying to act like he hadn't just been rendered speechless by his _good friend_ 's shocking beauty. 

"H-Hey, Marinette! Long time no see, huh?" 

"A-Adrien?", she stammered. 

"Yup, that's me", he chuckled nervously, throwing in a wink (because why not?), "How are thing going for you these days?". 

Her apparent nervousness around him had confused him to no end in high school, but it looked like she had improved at least a bit as Marinette stammered, "I-I'm fine. And you? You a-are fine, I m-mean you l-look fine, I mean not that you're like _fine_ fine, like hot, th-that's not that you're not hot or anything because you are, but just fine like okay, you know?".

Adrien blinked. _I mean, that kind of made sense,_ he thought. It was fortunate that he could understand her; his Marinette-ese was probably a little rusty from disuse. 

"Ohhhkay...", he said slowly, "Yeah, I've been good. It's been a while, though. Two years, can you believe it?".

She shook her head. "Wow, it's k-kinda crazy, actually." They walked together for a bit, each lost in thought. Adrien glanced over at Marinette. 

"So, where are you headed?", he asked.

"Chemistry", she answered, managing not to stutter for once. 

"Oh, hey, me too. Which professor do you have?", he asked curiously.

"I have F-Fournier."

He grinned, "No way! Me too. How cool is that?"

"Great!"

~~~~~

At first, Marinette had been pretty excited to have Adrien in her Chemistry class, but now she wasn't so sure. Of course, Adrien was great, and though she found her stuttering to be much more manageable, she still had a crush on him. But if today was any indication of what the rest of the semester would be like, she wasn't ever going to be able to focus in class. When they had arrived at their new classroom, he had sat next to her without hesitation. It had been bad enough sitting behind him back in high school. Now he was even closer, and he would be able to see her ~~staring at~~ ~~watching~~ ~~ogling~~ observing him. Fantastic. 

"...have a partner for our project that we'll be working on", the professor was saying, "I suggest that you find one now so that you're not scrambling to find one and finish in time in a couple weeks." The bell rang to dismiss the class.

Adrien turned to Marinette. "Wanna be partners?", he asked. 

"Y-Yeah, sure", she blushed.

"Awesome! I don't think I have your number..." He handed her his phone and she put her number in after handing him her own phone. As they switched phones back, he stood up.

"Well, I'd better get going. Unless you have economics next, too?", he asked, half joking, half actually wondering if they had all the same classes.

"Nope", she chuckled, "Fashion design". He raised an eyebrow. 

"Well, good luck with that one. I've heard it's pretty cutthroat", he smiled sympathetically, "Although I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle."

She grinned back, "Thanks. See you later!"

Adrien waved as he strolled away. Marinette ducked into the bathroom before her next class, checking to make sure it was empty before opening her purse.

"Tikki, what am I going to do? I can hardly think around Adrien, let alone talk, and I'm supposed to do a whole project with him!", she whisper-shouted frantically.

"Calm down, Marinette. I'm sure you'll be okay. Your stuttering's already gotten a bit better. Just remember, he's human too, and he's not going to judge you for being imperfect", her kwami responded.

"But what if he does, Tikki?", she wailed, dragging her hands down her face.

"You know he's way too nice for that. Besides, if he doesn't want to be with you just because you stutter, he's not worth your time."

Marinette sighed and nodded. She knew Tikki was right, even if her fear still nagged at her slightly. 

"This is gonna be a crazy semester", she muttered to herself as she walked out of the bathroom, having no idea just how true those words were. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that Adrien never calls his bodyguard "Gorilla" in canon? At least, according to my sister; I'm too lazy to actually go back and check. Also, Chat doesn't call Marinette "Princess" in canon either. I am *shook* (If I'm wrong and he actually does, let me know which episode?)


	2. "Hello again"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am weak for Nino and Marinette friendship. My headcanon is that they were childhood best friends, then kind of drifted apart as they got older. There's not much of their friendship in this chapter, but I hope to include some in the chapters to come.

"You WHAT?!?!?", Marinette asked her roommate, a little less than politely.

"I already told you, girl, I invited Nino and Adrien over for dinner", Alya responded, slightly impatient. "I thought it'd be nice to see each other again, since Adrien's basically been MIA for two years. You know, get the gang back together? Anyway, I was sure you wouldn't mind seeing _Adrikins_ again after so long."

Marinette sighed, "I hate to break it to you, Alya, but I already have. He's in my Chemistry class."

Alya's smirk dropped. It was her turn to yell incredulously at her roommate, "WHAT?!?!? Since when? Why do you never tell me anything?!" The red-haired reporter flopped down on the couch dramatically, throwing an arm over her eyes.

"You know that's not true, Alya. And besides, I just barely got home."

Alya removed her arm from her face to give Marinette a _what am I going to do with you?_ kind of look. "So? You could have texted me! You know I thrive on juicy gossip and drama!"

"Of course I know that, Als. How could I be your best friend for this long and not know that? It may not be my favorite sometimes, but it's because of that particular quality that I know you'll be a great journalist someday."

Alya grinned, "Awww, you're too kind, Mari. Does that mean you'll help me make dinner? They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, after all..." She winked at her roommate.

Marinette groaned. "Not this again. I thought I was done with this teasing forever, but it seems to have reappeared along with Adrien. Lucky me!"

"You know you love me. Come on, I'll start cooking some chicken to go with the pasta. Can you make some of your world-famous breadsticks?"

Marinette rolled her eyes before tying on an apron and getting to work.

~~~~~

Dinner was surprisingly less awkward than Marinette had thought it would be. Of course when Adrien beamed at her and uttered a smooth, "Hello again", her heart had started beating unreasonably fast. But she thought she recovered quite well, even managing to squeak out a somewhat understandable greeting in return.

Nino elbowed his way into the room past Adrien. "Hey, what's up dudettes?", he called out his customary greeting. Alya came over to greet her boyfriend with a quick peck on the lips. Then she turned and caught Adrien up in a tight hug. At first, he looked startled, but he recovered quickly and returned it just as fiercely. 

Alya pulled away, smirking. "Hey there, Sunshine, it's been a while. How are things going?", she asked him.

Adrien's hand came up to rub the back of his neck. "Oh, you know, pretty boring, just photoshoots and fencing and stuff."

"How's college life been treating you?", Alya continued to make conversation as she led the boys into the kitchen, Marinette trailing behind soundlessly.

"Not bad. I'm glad I decided to come here, though, instead of where Dad wanted me to go. It's been nice to be a little closer to home in case I need anything", Adrien replied.

They allowed everyone to serve themselves before digging in.

"Dude needs a lot, too", Nino teased, "The old man kept him so sheltered he hardly knows how to do anything by himself." He elbowed his best friend in the ribs.

Adrien flushed. "I'm not _that_ bad, Nino!", he protested. The DJ just laughed and continued eating.

"Wow, these breadsticks are really good", Adrien commented partway through the meal.

"I know, right? Marinette made them", Alya told him, smiling slyly at her roommate.

Nino laughed, "What else would we expect from a baker's daughter? Seriously though, Nette, they're amazing."

Marinette blushed. The compliments definitely weren't helping her attempts to not look like a tomato. Neither was Adrien. Apparently, two years of not seeing him had weakened her defenses against his attractiveness. Just him looking at her sent her brain into panic mode. And the awkward silence now hanging over the dinner table definitely didn't help. Oh no, should she have said something? She definitely should have said something. But what? 'Thank you', maybe? Well, it was too late now. She had let the silence trail too long, it would just make it worse if she said it now.

Marinette cast her mind about for any conversation topic. Finally, she latched onto one that, though it may be old news, she had been thinking about a lot lately. It always hovered in the back of her mind, but with the two-year anniversary of Hawkmoth's disappearance coming up, it nagged her more than ever. "So... what do you guys think about Chat Noir's disappearance? He's been gone for two, two and a half years now?" Not her smoothest save, but it worked. Alya could speculate for hours on this topic.

For some reason, Adrien looked uncomfortable as he said, "I don't know, maybe it was for personal reasons? We can't really read the mind of a superhero, can we?" He chuckled nervously, causing Nino to shoot him a slightly concerned look. Alya, however, wholeheartedly snatched up Marinette's bait.

"A lot of people think he somehow died or something, but I've heard a bunch of other theories as well. I heard that he and Ladybug had a fight _that_ night. You know, the last time anyone saw him? Also the night that Cendrillon attacked, and, _coincidentally_ , the night of Chloe's end-of-year party", she said eagerly.

Nino nodded. "You know, none of us were really surprised that it was during Chloe's party that someone got akumatized. I swear, that girl single-handedly caused half of Paris to be akumatized."

"Oh please, Nino, be fair. She only caused a third of Paris to be akumatized", Alya snorted.

Their conversation continued on much the same note for the rest of the meal. Nino and Alya eventually trailed off into wildly ridiculous speculations about why Chat Noir had left that night. Only Marinette seemed to notice that Adrien hardly contributed to the rest of the conversation, not to defend Chat's terrible puns (as he had usually done before), not to add to the speculation, not even to respond to Nino and Alya's slander of Chloe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I promise I really did mean to post more frequently, but the past month has been insane, what with school and the quarantine situation and everything. This next week is actually finals for me, but I'm taking a little break *cough cough procrastinating cough cough* from studying for a bit and felt like working on the next chapter. It's also been hard because I've spent waaaaayyyy too much time planning out the ending and not nearly enough planning out the middle of the story. So I know exactly how this will end! ...But I'm still figuring out how to get there. Anyways, thank you all so much for getting through my rambling and for reading my story! Please please please let me know what you think, I would love to get some comments on how you like the story so far! Feedback is always welcome!


	3. Flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Mostly, this chapter's just backstory. Hopefully, this will help provide some clarity. As always, let me know what you think by giving kudos or commenting!

Later that night, Marinette lay in her bed, staring at her ceiling. Yes, she still thought about Chat occasionally, wondered where he was, how he was doing, and all that. She still missed him, more than she cared to admit. The conversation at dinner tonight had brought the painful topic back to her mind, and suddenly she couldn't stop thinking about what had happened _that night._

Their fight had mostly been her fault, she conceded. She was a bit (well, maybe more than just a bit) grumpy from staying up late almost every night of the week leading up to the party. She had been helping her parents complete a huge pastry order for the party, studying for finals, and working on her and Alya's outfits for the party. On top of all of that, Hawkmoth had apparently decided that this was the perfect week to send akuma after akuma at the superhero duo. 

So, long story short, Marinette was _exhausted._ Nevertheless, she tried to show excitement as she and Alya helped each other get ready for Chloe's party. 

"This is your chance, girl, I can feel it!", Alya squealed, "Tonight is the night that Adrien will finally notice how amazing you are!".

Marinette smiled tiredly. "Thanks, Alya. I sure hope so."

"I _know_ so, Mari."

~~~~~

The party had already been in full swing as Marinette and Alya arrived. Alya dragged Marinette with her as she saw Nino and Adrien across the room. The spacious ballroom (located in Chloe's father's hotel) was decorated beautifully, Marinette had to admit. It was filled with students from their school, even those who weren't in the same grade. As much as most of them disliked Chloe, they couldn't resist an invitation to what promised to be the party of the year, with treats from the Dupain-Cheng bakery, a live performance by Jagged Stone himself, and the best party favors money could buy. While Chloe wasn't perfect, she was getting better at being nice, with Adrien's help. And nobody could deny that she knew how to throw a party. 

Finally, Marinette and Alya managed to break through the crowd and find the boys. Marinette felt her face get hot as Adrien smiled at her. "Wow, Mari, you look great!", he said. "And you too, Alya." 

"Thanks, Adrien", Alya replied, winking at Marinette before dragging Nino off to dance. 

Marinette looked at Adrien out of the corner of her eye. Honestly, how did Alya expect her to maintain a conversation with him? 

"You really do look amazing, Marinette", Adrien told her, smiling softly. "Did you make the dress yourself?"

She nodded shyly, knowing she wouldn't be able to force anything coherent out of her mouth. Adrien turned the conversation towards his plans for the coming summer, asking her about hers. She managed to stammer out something close enough to a reply that Adrien accepted it. 

"Hey, Marinette", he said as the current song ended and a slow song came on, "Do you want to dance?".

"Of c-course I would love you, I m-mean a you with dance, I mean a dance with you, Adrien!", she exclaimed, face beet red. 

Smiling, Adrien held out his hand for her. Just as she was reaching out to take it, the wall at the other end of the ballroom exploded inward, sending students running to cower under tables. 

"CHLOE BOURGEOIS!!!!", the girl in the middle of the explosion screeched angrily. Marinette sighed. Of course. She really should have seen this coming, she thought. But of course, she had been hoping it wouldn't. 

Suddenly remembering Adrien beside her, she glanced over to find him looking around as if trying to find somewhere to hide. She'd have to get him to safety, then come up with an excuse to get away and transform. Hopefully, Chat would arrive in the meantime and hold off the akuma. He seemed to have a sixth sense about these things, almost always arriving at the scene exactly when she needed him. Grabbing Adrien's hand, Marinette pulled him out a nearby door and behind some bushes. 

"Ummm, you stay here. I'm going to go find Alya and Nino", she told him. He looked up at her worriedly from where he had crouched down. 

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Marinette?"

"Y-yes, I'll be fine", she assured him, "Stay here!".

Running around the corner of the building, she made sure nobody else was within eyesight, then called out, "Tikki, spots on!" Barely waiting for the transformation to finish, she ran back inside. It was time to confront the akuma. 

~~~~~

Throwing her lucky charm up into the air, Ladybug cried out, "Miraculous Ladybug!" and watched as the herd of ladybugs returned the room to its original glory. Glancing over at a large green pumpkin, she was relieved to see it turn back into her partner, Chat Noir, who had turned up just in the nick of time, as always. Giving him a _look_ that said they would talk later, she rushed over to the girl huddled on the floor, looking around as all the chaos she had caused disappeared. Marinette vaguely recognized the girl from school, though she was a year younger than Marinette herself. 

She crouched down and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?", she asked softly, "What happened?"

The girl who had been the villain Cendrillon only minutes before timidly explained that she had been waiting forever for a chance to confess to her crush. She had decided tonight was that chance, and had spent weeks trying to find the perfect outfit, only for her efforts to be ridiculed by Chloe as soon as she arrived at the party. The girl had recounted how Chloe, who apparently wasn't as good at being nice as Marinette had thought she had become, had scoffed at her wanting to impress her crush, and told her she would never get any boys looking like _that._

As Ladybug sympathetically listened to the younger girl's sorrows, a boy, in the same grade as the girl she was comforting, approached. He smiled shyly at the girl. 

"Hey, Elise. I heard what Chloe said to you, and I actually think you look really pretty tonight. Do you want to dance with me?"

Marinette could tell from the girl's answering smile that this was the boy she had been talking about. _At least_ she _gets to dance with her crush,_ she thought sourly. As she got up from her crouch, her earrings beeped. Two minutes, just enough time to chew out a certain cat before transforming back. 

Turning around, she grabbed her partner by his bell and marched out the door. Surprised at the sudden action, he yowled, "Bugaboo! What was that for?".

As she turned to face him, the fury in her eyes made him take a step back. "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't need you jumping in front of every single akuma for me, chaton? You know I can handle myself just fine!". Any other time, she would have simply told him off with a few words in passing. But the past week had been so insane she didn't think merely saying it was stressful came anywhere close to describing it. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and sleep for approximately eight and a half years.

"Of course you can, M'Lady, but I just don't want to take the chance! Paris needs you, far more than they need _this_ unlucky cat."

"That's ridiculous, and you know it! They need you just as much as they need me, and you're definitely not making it easier for me, distracting me when I'm trying to save everyone!"

His eyes narrowed as his anger rose to match hers. "Distracting you? Is that all I am, a distraction? Of course, I should have known. You don't really care that I could've gotten hurt, you just don't want to be distracted. Fine, then. I won't distract you anymore." 

Looking around, she could see their argument was starting to draw a crowd. She stepped closer to him and lowered her voice.

"Kitty, that's not what I-"

"No, I understand. I really do", he said, anger fading into sadness. "You don't need me. Everyone knows that. Even you do, you just don't want to admit it."

She stared after him helplessly as he walked away, taking a hesitant step forward. But her earrings beeped a final warning, and she had to quickly find a hiding place to detransform. After reverting back to her everyday self, she hastily fed Tikki a cookie and transformed back into Ladybug, swinging across the city to find Chat Noir. But he was nowhere to be found. 

And, as she saw when she got back to the party, so was Adrien. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one was kind of hard for me to write. I've been trying for about a week now and I'm only just getting it done. I promise there will be more backstory later, from Adrien's perspective, but this will have to do for now. (Also, I can't French- I can hardly even English, really- and I had to look up how to spell Chloe's last name so the akuma could properly shout it because there are just too many vowels and I can't keep track of them).


	4. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Once again, here I am with another (extra short, sorry about that) backstory chapter of Lucky Charm. Have fun!

Marinette wasn't the only one who remembered that night less than fondly, and she was definitely not the only one who still lost sleep over it. Adrien, too, was haunted by the conversation from earlier. However, his recollections were a bit different. 

He still felt guilty about the argument with Ladybug, but it wasn't the only argument he had had that night. His father had been more strict than usual, what with finals and everything going on. 

"But Father, finals are over! Why can't I just have a little fun with my friends?". He remembered their conversation like it was yesterday. 

"Adrien, we've already had this conversation. You have an early photoshoot tomorrow, and you need your rest. Now, for the last time, you are not going to that party!"

No matter how much Adrien argued, his father stood firm. Later, with only Plagg to keep him company in his room, he decided that nothing, not even his father's orders, would keep him from having fun tonight. Telling Nathalie that he was tired and wished to be left alone for the rest of the evening, he shut himself in his room. Quietly, he called, "Plagg, claws out!" and slipped out the window as Chat Noir, then turned back into Adrien and fed Plagg some Camembert before walking to the party. 

It turned out, there was a lot more than just his father's orders that could keep him from having fun. Looking back, he berated himself for not considering the (very high) chances of someone getting akumatized at Chloe's party. But someone had, and here he was being turned back from a pumpkin into a cat. 

Before he could even use another one of his a-mew-sing squash puns, Ladybug was yanking him out the door by his bell. Her eyes sparked angrily with blue fire, and it was dangerously attractive, but he forced himself to pay attention to what she was actually saying. As she she accused him of distracting her, he felt his anger and hurt rise and responded in kind. After ending their argument, he sadly walked away, ducking behind a building to detransform. Adrien decided to take the long way home. 

He supposed it was his own fault for not paying attention to his surroundings, but as he heard the screech of tires and looked up into a pair of blinding headlights, all he could think was, _Father's not going to be happy about this._ He couldn't remember much from there, but he could vaguely recall panicked voices and someone saying something about calling an ambulance. 

He woke up hours later, in a hospital bed, and everything hurt. The nurses said he was lucky that they driver of the car had at least seen him and tried to slow down. His father, however, was not so pleased. While not fatally injured, he had broken one of his legs and several of his ribs, along with having more than his fair share of scrapes, cuts, and bruises. It would be a while before he could resume modeling and piano, much less fencing. 

"I told you that party was not a good idea, Adrien. Do you see what happens when you don't listen to me? I knew those 'friends' of yours weren't good influences. From now on, you will be staying home. No spending time with your friends, and no going to school."

No matter how hard Adrien tried to get a word in edgewise, his father wouldn't listen. 

At first, it very nearly killed him to see his lady battling against akumas alone. But as time went on and he saw how she managed to deal with them alone, he began to think he had been right. Clearly, she didn't need Chat Noir. Even after he was fully healed, he remained inside during akuma attacks, like any normal civilian. Gradually, Plagg's nagging died down as the kwami realized there was only one person who would be able to restore Chat Noir's confidence, and it wasn't him. 

Adrien tried to keep in contact with his friends, but there was only so much he could do, especially with his father's increased vigilance. He had never really been as close with Alya and Marinette, and so most of his communication was with Nino, when he could. 

Over time, Adrien's father came to the conclusion that the accident had been partially his fault as well and resolved to try to be a more attentive father to his son. On a _completely_ unrelated note, Hawkmoth was apparently easing up as well. The citizens of Paris were confused but delighted as the flow of akumas trickled to a stop. 

Now, it had been almost two years since an akuma had plagued the city. The rumors and speculation about Chat Noir and Hawkmoth were for the most part dying down, though the Ladyblog still reported frequent sightings of Paris's favorite polka-dotted heroine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Father Agreste is kinda giving me Mother Gothel vibes here... It actually reminds me of a Rapunzel/Tangled fanfic I recently read that's really good. It's called Raiponce by TidbitsAndThoughts, y'all should read it!  
> ...Should Camembert be capitalized?...I'm not entirely sure.


	5. Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I, um, am a bit delayed on posting this chapter, and for that I am deeply sorry. I promise I tried, but it was kinda hard to get myself started on this. I'm trying so hard, I promise. Please leave a kudos if you like? Please?

Adrien stared at the confusing mess of lights, buttons and dials, running a hand through his already messy hair. Yes, he had known there would be a lot for him to learn as he moved out of his father's house. But he had never imagined something so supposedly simple could in actuality be so complicated. 

Nino was out of the apartment today, spending the day with Alya. Adrien had figured that it was time to do some laundry. He had been putting it off for a couple weeks, but you could only wear the same shirt so many times before someone noticed it. And really, how hard could it be? Very hard, apparently. 

He had tried googling it, but he wasn't sure what model the washer was and the instructions online only confused him more. He racked his mind for anything else he could do. Maybe he could call someone? But who did he know that could help him? Hardly anyone actually... Nino and Alya were both busy, and he didn't want to interrupt their date. Marinette! Of course! She had given him her phone number in their Chemistry class, and he had no doubt she would be willing to help, with only minimal teasing about his ineptitude. 

Running his hand through his hair once more, he pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his contacts until he reached the right one.

"Hey Marinette, this is kinda embarrassing, but do you think you could come help me with something?"

~~~~~

"...and then you set the cycle length with this dial", Marinette coached him, "Alright, then close the lid and you should be good to go!" 

She reached out and gave him a fist bump. For a minute, he paused, trying to figure out why the position seemed so familiar. Then he shook it off. 

"Do you think... you could stay to help me with the dryer?", he asked a bit bashfully.

"Of course!", Marinette said, "What do you want to do in the meantime?"

Adrien's shy smile melted into a slowly growing grin. "Ultimate Mecha Strike III? I still have it."

Marinette's expression matched his. "Oh, you're on."

~~~~~

"Noooooo, there is no way on the whole wide Earth that you could have beat me! Hoooowwww?!?!?", Marinette wailed.

"Ha, joke's on you, I've been practicing, M'La- Marinette." Adrien paled slightly. Luckily, Marinette didn't seem to have noticed his slip-up. He couldn't say why he had said it, but for a minute there it had almost felt like one of the rare instances when he won a race between him and Ladybug, back in the day. He shook off the thought. 

Smirking, he gestured to the controller she had dropped on the ground, "Care to try again?"

"Only if you want to lose", she challenged, snatching it up,"I won't be going easy on you anymore."

"Going easy on me? Ohhh, you're in for it now, Princess" When he realized what he had just said, he cringed. What was it about Marinette that brought out his inner Chat Noir? He had never acted like this around her before. But, then again, she'd never acted this way around him either. Turning, he caught Marinette looking at him contemplatively. 

"...Marinette? Is everything okay?", he asked nervously. She couldn't have found him out that easily… right?

Marinette's eyes narrowed slightly and she tilted her head. "I think... we should check on the clothes in the washer", she said.

Adrien's eyes widened. He had totally forgotten about the laundry.

"Y-yeah, we should probably check on that."  _ Why am I stammering? Come on, Adrien, this is Marinette! You've been friends for ages, surely you can form a complete sentence around her.  _

~~~~~

Marinette was very confused. Something about the way Adrien was acting, the mischievous grin that had been on his face, the nickname that had seemingly slipped out... it was familiar. Too familiar. She tried to tell herself she must be wrong. It made sense that Adrien would let himself be more free after he no longer had his father breathing down his neck.  _ But that smile,  _ her mind insisted. She quickly helped Adrien figure out the dryer, then excused herself, saying she had some homework to get done. She parked her car in the parking lot for her apartment, but didn't go inside. After sitting on the steps outside for a few minutes, she found an alley to transform in. She did her best thinking on the rooftops of Paris. 

~~~~~

Adrien flopped onto his bed. 

"Plagg, why do I keep doing this? After all these years, shouldn't I have put that part of myself behind me? I'm not Chat Noir anymore."

"I dunno, kid. Maybe it's a sign", a grumpy voice replied sarcastically from the closet. 

"Plagg-", Adrien started, only for Plagg to cut him off.

"Listen to me, Adrien. Even if you don't listen to me every other time I talk to you, please just shut up and let me talk. Chat Noir's not just a part of you, Adrien, he is you. He is who you are when you're not afraid what anyone else thinks, when you let yourself truly _be._ Maybe you think this should be behind you, but I think this fear should be behind you. You're out from under your father's thumb, you're in college now. If there was ever a time to experiment, to be free and stupid and happy, this is that time."

Adrien looked away, avoiding his kwami's gaze. "I guess I've never thought about it like that before. But I don't know if I can be that person anymore, Plagg, always joking and happy."

Plagg softened. "You don't have to be, kid. Nobody's happy all the time. Just be you. The you that you would be if the world wasn't watching."

Adrien looked up, meeting Plagg's green eyes. "You're right, Plagg. Thanks."

Plagg watched his boy prepare for bed. That baker girl was good for Adrien, he thought. That night, he had seen Adrien happier, livelier, than he had been in a long time. And he deserved that, more than anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So somehow Plagg and Adrien having a deep discussion just... snuck in there? I was gonna have Plagg be all resentful that Adrien was kinda shutting him out and stuff, but he just decided to be wise, I guess? Listen, I stan Plagg teaching Adrien about healthier ways to express his emotions and be himself. (Even though I'm not really good about expressing emotions myself, so...)


	6. Who let the cat out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, once again, if you haven't read the edits I made on the previous chapters, they're quite a bit different. I did make them like six months ago, but if you haven't tuned in since then, be sure to give those a look!

Adrien had decided to take Plagg's advice to heart. He wanted to live life to its fullest, and a large part of that was being himself. Unashamedly. Obnoxiously. He had determined that he would start with Nino and Marinette. Nino was, of course, his best friend, and as for Marinette... well, he found that he was strangely comfortable being himself around her, though they hadn't spent much time together. Somehow, he subconsciously knew that he could trust her, that she wouldn't judge him for being who he was. 

Nino had been seemingly unimpressed but not surprised by Adrien letting out his goofiness. He had occasionally seen hints of the sillier side of Adrien's personality, and though he wouldn't tell Adrien himself, Nino was honored that his best friend finally felt comfortable enough around him to trust him with that part of himself. 

Adrien was pleased with the results of his little experiment. Sure, Nino hadn't thought his jokes were all that funny, but he hadn't ridiculed him for them either. _Operation: introduce Chatdrien to Nino-- success!_ Now, to let a little bit of the cat out with Marinette.

~~~~~

They were working on some Chemistry homework together when Adrien decided to give it a try. 

He leaned over. "Hey, Marinette, do you remember what element 74 is?", he asked.

She looked up at him and shook her head. "No, I always forget that one... let's see...", she said absentmindedly as she shuffled through her papers, muttering to herself. _Cute,_ Adrien thought, feeling a small smile spread across his face at her determination. Then he shook himself. The joke. He had to finish the joke.

Tapping his chin and shuffling through his own papers, he said, "It's on the tip of my _tungsten_..." Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien saw Marinette's head snap up. He pretended to keep looking for the answer, then held up his periodic table triumphantly when he "found" it. Pointing to the 74th element, he turned to grin at Marinette, only to find her staring at him, whitefaced, a reaction he definitely hadn't been expecting. Laughter, maybe. Anger, most likely. But... surprise? Fear? He didn't even know what it was, but he definitely hadn't foreseen it. Just as he was about to express his concern, Marinette seemed to recover, an almost mischievous smirk appearing on her face, also unexpected. 

"C'mon, Adrien, that was _sodium_ bad. Surely you can _zinc_ of something better?", she challenged him. Adrien was gobsmacked, to say the least. Marinette was _punning back_? This was the best day of his life!

"Wow, you're really in your _element_ here, Marinette! I slapped my _neon_ that one", he chuckled. 

She rolled her eyes. "Don't act so surprised. I make Chemistry puns _periodically._ " Adrien couldn't believe it. This just kept getting better and better. 

"Well, I was gonna make another sodium joke, but you already made one, so _na."_

"Hmm... it seems you just can't make a good Chemistry pun. I suppose all the good ones _argon._ " 

Adrien was mesmerized by the way her eyes twinkled as she teased him. Again, it reminded him of someone, but he tried to put that out of his mind and focus on the here and now. Yes, he used to be head over heels for Ladybug, but that was years ago. In all honesty, he probably wouldn't see her again. It was time to let her go. And he could already feel himself falling for someone else. His sweet, cute, funny _friend._ "I wish I was adenine so I could be paired with U", he breathed, not even sure where the flirtatious line came from.

Marinette's face exploded in a bright red blush. She was as stunned as he was. For a second, they both just sat there, staring at each other. Adrien was about to burst into some sort of explanation or apology, though he wasn't completely sure how to explain what just happened, but then Marinette coughed and collected herself, blush subsiding into a light brush of pink across her cheekbones.

"Well, we should probably finish this homework up. C'mon kitty, keep your _ion_ the prize", she grinned a bit timidly. 

Face still burning, he nodded, returning to his problem-solving.

~~~~~

As Adrien walked out of their study room after finishing up their work, he thought, _Operation: introduce Chatdrien to Marinette-- success? I really can't tell, but I think it was good. She punned with me, and she called me kitty-- wait, she called me kitty!?!?!?!_ He stopped in his tracks, heat rushing to his face once again as he remembered the absent-minded pet name. _Does she- Is she- Did she-_ He didn't even know where to begin with all of the questions he had swirling around his head.

~~~~~

Marinette leaned against the door frame, watching Adrien walk away. He had his head down, seemingly deep in thought. Then he stopped, frozen in the middle of the bustling sidewalk. What little she could see of his cheeks reddened and she smirked, ducking back into the study room.

At first, it was just a passing thought. _Oh,_ she noticed, _Adrien's smile looks kind of like Chat Noir's._ But it was gone within moments. Slowly, however, she had noticed other similarities. Hair color, build, eye color (but she was never really sure if that was his natural color; after all, the cat miraculous had turned her own eyes green). Of course, Alya had pointed out the similarities as well, but she had never wanted to believe her. There was no possible way they could be the same person, right?

But then. Then he starting joking with her and teasing her, just like Chat had. Then he started smiling that achingly familiar smile. Then he had _punned_ with her. And she hadn't seen her kitty in so long that she _wanted_ to believe. She wanted Adrien to be Chat Noir because it just made _so much sense._ Because she missed her best friend, who had been gone about the same time as the cute boy who sat in front of her in class. She had been at war with herself for the past week or so, since the night they had done laundry and played Ultimate Mecha Strike III together. She had hoped and wished and doubted and feared all at the same time, and she just wanted to know. So when he had joked with her, with that same endearing grin that Chat always wore, she was scared. She wanted it to be him so bad, but how could she find out for sure without exposing her own secret identity? She was terrified, until she saw the ring on his hand as he shuffled through his papers. And suddenly Marinette knew. 

What she didn't know was how to deal with this information, how to continue on as if life was still normal when she had just found out that her best friend who had been gone for over two years was sitting right next to her, completely unaware of who she really was. So, she fell back into the familiar rhythm of teasing banter. She had never really responded to Chat Noir's puns before, as his timing had been _terrible,_ but her papa had trained her well in the art of puns. And she intended to do her papa proud. It simply wouldn't do to put all of those puns to waste, no sir. She had gotten so into it that she had forgotten for a moment that they weren't wearing their masks, that they were just Marinette and Adrien, two normal students with normal lives. 

And then Adrien had _flirted_ with her, and while that certainly wasn't new, the shy smile he had given her was. It was a decidedly _Adrien_ smile, missing the brash confidence of Chat Noir. Marinette was forced to remember that while he was more comfortable acting like his alter ego now, Chat Noir was not all of who Adrien was, and he couldn't deliver a line like _that_ as easily outside of the suit. Yet, the sincerity in his eyes had stunned her. He meant it. Even later, thinking back on it, she couldn't hold back a blush. 

The pet name had slipped out almost against her will, and a part of her had hoped that he noticed it, but another part hoped he hadn't. And he hadn't. Which could mean two things, in her opinion: either he really was as unobservant as Alya had always bemoaned, or he was so used to it that it didn't seem out of place to him. She really hoped it was the latter. 

She was pretty sure, though, that when he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, that was what he was thinking about. Maybe it was a woman's intuition, or maybe she just knew her partner that well, but she would bet money that he had noticed just then. Not a lot of money; she was a poor college student after all. But she would bet money nonetheless. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know, in a couple weeks I'm probably going to have to stop writing altogether because of some stuff going on in my life. It'll be a while before I can write again and I really don't know what life will be like after that, so I'm not sure when or if I'll be back. I'm going to try to finish this before then, but it'll probably be a bit rushed, so I'm sorry for that. I'm also so so sorry it's taken me this long to get this out...  
> Also, I literally looked up puns for this chapter and made a list on my phone... and I'm not ashamed of it.  
> After reading over it again, I would like to apologize for how bad this chapter is. It made more sense in my head, but looking at it now, it just looks unstructured. I don't know... thoughts?


End file.
